Towns

art shows

At first you can’t tell what the paintings are. Then you notice the gruesome red spot on one, the shape of a head on the second, the bodily form lying there on the third; three paintings playing with your perception of a man who has been shot in the head.

The artist is Walker Roman, 21, who is one of four featured artists at Shephard Fine ArtSpace’s show that opened last Saturday.

If you visit the Alison Shaw Gallery during its opening this Memorial Day weekend, you may find yourself among the many who are inspired to go out and make photographs as calmly arresting and as quintessentially Vineyard as Ms. Shaw’s. If this is the case, the best remedy might be a copy of Ms. Shaw’s new book, Photographing Martha’s Vineyard: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them.

On Thursday, June 30 at 6 p.m., oil painter Meg Mercier will give a brief gallery talk about her plein air paintings on view at the Old Sculpin Gallery in Edgartown.

The evening will also include a constructive critique by folk artist Brian Kirkpatrick for anyone who wishes to bring in a work in progress. Contact the gallery for more details at 508-627-4881, mvaa@verizon.netor or visit oldsculpingallery.org.

Island-born painter Dan VanLandingham, fresh from receiving his master of fine arts degree at Savannah College of Art and Design, will exhibit his Vineyard landscapes at Dragonfly Fine Arts Gallery. Mr. VanLandingham is the featured artist at the gallery through June 22.

The gallery is at 91 Dukes County avenue in the arts district in Oak Bluffs. Call 508-693-8877 or visit mvdragonfly.com.

The architecture of the 18th century Colonial home enjoyed by four generations of the Cooke family won’t be the oldest art on display on Friday evening when the Martha’s Vineyard Museum opens its season with a free reception for members and guests: A traditional Afro-Brazilian dance that dates back to the 16th century will be on show, too, courtesy of a group from Martha’s Vineyard Capoeira.

A Thomas Hart Benton Vineyard landscape painting will go on the auction block Thursday at the Swann Galleries in New York city. The painting is from Mr. Benton’s early work, estimated to have been painted in the 1920s when Mr. Benton and his wife, Rita, first began summering on the Vineyard. Titled Landscape, Martha’s Vineyard, the painting is oil on paper, circa 1922-24.

The painting’s more abstract look is indicative of Benton’s early to mid-career work, according to Todd Weyman, a Benton expert at Swann Galleries.

This Sunday, June 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. a group of local artists are gathering to help children in crisis as a result of the tsunami in Japan. The artists include Mark Zeender, Hiroko Thomson, Carrie Mae Smith, Elizabeth Cecil, Jocelyn Filley, Meg Bodnar and Greg Watson. Well, most are local. Hiroko doesn’t live here, but she’s a grandmother to locals which means her Island roots are not just deep but most likely spreading good vibes down at the playground as we speak.